| Summary: | A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree Master of Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies, Faculty of Education at the University Of Zululand, 2018. === Physical Sciences continue to be one of the subjects that yield poor results in Grade 12 every year. Many factors have been said to contribute to the poor Grade 12 results including resources and teaching methods. This study however, investigated the educators’ and learners’ views on factors that contribute to poor performance in Grade 12 from a rural UMkhanyakude district of KwaZulu Natal. A questionnaire with both closed and open-ended questions was used to determine learners’ views, while an interview schedule was used to delve into the educators’ views.
Frequency results from learner questionnaires revealed that learners viewed issues such as overcrowded classrooms, lack of parental support, lack of support from education local office, lack of resources, and a negative attitude towards Physical Science as the main factors that contribute to poor performance in Grade 12 Physical Sciences. The inductive analysis of the teachers’ interview transcripts revealed that teachers believed that giving extra support without resources such as well-resourced laboratories, and parental support is sometimes impossible. These key findings can contribute to programmes that seek to strengthen the teaching of Sciences in rural contexts; thus this study makes a contribution to what is known about the factors that contribute to poor performance in Grade 12 in a rural context.
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